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Rios: I’m going to retire Manny Pacquiao

By Chris Williams: Brandon Rios (31-1-1, 23 KO’s) says he’s on a mission to send Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KO’s) into retirement by beating him on November 23rd in Macao, China. That’s Rios’ goal for this fight. He wants to beat Pacquiao so bad that he won’t want to continue his boxing career afterwards. Rios wants to get the fame and fortune that Pacquiao has, and he feels that by giving him a bad beating on November 23rd, he’ll be on his way to accomplishing that.

Rios said to HBO’s Max Kellerman in the Manny Pacquiao – Brandon Rios Face Off “I’m going to be ready 100 percent. I’ve got to go in and retire you [Pacquiao]. I’ve got to retire Manny Pacquiao, because I’m the next star. I don’t want to be like you. I want to be like Brandon. I’m tired of people counting me out. They saying I’m a punching bag and that he’s going to fight Mayweather.”

Pacquiao: “He wants to do what I’ve done in boxing also. He wants to be like me. That’s good. I want to prove to people I can still fight. My speed and power is still there. I’m not old. I’m still young. I’m 34-years-old. He’s younger, I can feel that. I remember when I was like him. He’s hungry. I can do that even at 34. My time is not over yet.”

Rios: “To me, he’s just another opponent. To me, boxing is better than sex. He’s saying right now that he’s still confident, that’s ready. I’m here to prove you wrong. I’m here to come out and defeat him. That’s my job. That’s what a lot of great say. It happens.”

Pacquiao kept repeating to Rios that he wants to be like him. Rios didn’t seem to like that after awhile and he finally had to tell him that he didn’t want to be like him, and that he wanted to be his own guy but at the top of the boxing hill.

Pacquiao still thinks he’s in his prime at 34, but the facts don’t seem to suggest that based on his last three fights. He’s lost two out of his last three fights, and looked poor in all three of them. Pacquiao is about to turn 35 in December, and it doesn’t look like he’s anywhere near what he was in his prime in 2008-2009.

Pacquiao is still fast and has power, but he might not be able to take a hard shot anymore without hitting the deck. We’re going to find that out on November 23rd when Rios tests his chin with his biggest shots. I won’t be surprised if Pacquiao hits the deck and is counted out in this fight. I don’t think he’ll retire like Rios wants him to, because the money is too good for him to hang up the gloves for good. Besides that, Pacquiao will likely tell himself that he made a mistake and that’s why Rios knocked him out. He might even call it a lucky punch like the one that Juan Manuel Marquez knocked him out with last December.